TAMPA, FL- After getting called out by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Tampa mayor Jane Castor wrote that a new policy revising the language of concern had been developed by her office and will be disseminated to all Tampa police officers immediately, FOX-13 News reported.
“The City of Tampa has no intention of violating state or federal law,” she wrote. “We will continue to use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law, as well as state law.”
Castor’s response came after Uthmeier sent a letter to her office claiming that the Tampa Police Department illegally restricts how officers cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Uthemeier took particular issue with the department's refusal to disclose the immigration backgrounds of witnesses and victims.
“TPD ostensibly supports these policies because they do not want ‘illegal aliens’ to be concerned with immigration consequences by cooperating with law enforcement,” he wrote.
In a post on X, Uthmeier wrote:
“Mayor Castor is forcing sanctuary policies on the Tampa Police Department, which violates Florida law.
“These policies must be reversed immediately, or there will be consequences.”
Uthmeir included a copy of his letter to Castor in the post.
Uthmeier said there was no ambiguity in the law; sanctuary policies are prohibited in Florida. He told Castor she had until March 31 to reverse the policies. He warned that Tampa would “risk the enforcement of all applicable civil penalties,” which could include removing Castor from office.
The original policy read as follows:
Officers are not required to share information with federal immigration authorities regarding victims or witnesses of crime, nor shall they inquire into or investigate the immigration status of cooperative victims, witnesses, or individuals requesting police services. These restrictions are intended to foster and preserve trust between the department and immigrant communities, ensuring that individuals feel safe reporting crimes, seeking assistance, and cooperating with law enforcement without fear of reprisal or immigration-related consequences. C. Restrictions on Immigration Enforcement Activities: 1. Officers are prohibited from engaging in broad-based immigration enforcement actions (e.g., workplace enforcement operations, traffic checkpoints, area saturation sweeps).
The new policy is written as follows:
Pursuant to Florida Statute 908.104 (7), an officer is not required to provide a federal immigration agency with information realted to a victim or a witness to a criminal offense if: (a) the victim or witness is necessary to the investigation or prosecution of a crime, and such crime occurred in the United States; and (b) the victim or witness timely and in good faith responds to the entity’s or agency’s request for information and cooperates in the investigation or prosecution of such offense. 2. Florida Statute 908.104 (9) does not authorize a law enforcement agency to detain an alien unlawfully present in the United States pursuant to an immigration detainer solely because the alien witnessed or reported a crime or was a victim of a criminal offense.
FOX-13 was told by the Tampa Police Department that six officers and two supervisors from the department are part of the 287(g) program, which is mandatory for all 67 Florida county jails and correctional facilities under state law. While they are not mandatory for city-level police departments, they are strongly encouraged.
Comments